Mental Health

Mental Health @ Home book review: Have You Heard the Sound of Your Own Voice?

Book Review: Have You Heard the Sound of Your Own Voice?

Have You Heard the Sound of Your Own Voice is a memoir by Krithika Chandrasekar about her experiences with depression. The title refers to “the language of silence” that people with depression speak as they carry their burdens. The book covers the author’s teenage years in India and her time as an undergrad at Purdue, …

Book Review: Have You Heard the Sound of Your Own Voice? Read More »

rainbow model of mental illness symptoms and functioning

The Rainbow Model of Mental Illness Symptoms & Functioning

I originally introduced the rainbow model of mental illness functioning last year to capture some of my thoughts on the relationship between symptoms and functioning in mental illness. This is something that exists in my head rather than being an actual thing, and it’s not a model in the scientific sense, but it shows some …

The Rainbow Model of Mental Illness Symptoms & Functioning Read More »

The Basics of Mental Health Bullet Journalling

I’ve talked about bullet journalling before, but it’s been a while, so I thought I’d talk about it again in this post on the basics and another post on tracking. My Journalling History I’ve journalled off and on for most of my life. When I was going to university, I mostly did themed pages devoted …

The Basics of Mental Health Bullet Journalling Read More »

The many faces of depression - watercolour images of eyes

The Many Faces of Depression

Depression – it’s one word to describe so many different things. The many faces of depression means that no one person’s experience can ever capture what depression is. It’s a simple word for a complex illness, so let’s chat a bit about what that complexity can look like. Major depressive episode symptoms The possible symptoms …

The Many Faces of Depression Read More »

Mental health care for all: Let's make it a reality

Mental Health Care for All: Let’s Make It a Reality

Today is World Mental Health Day 2021, and this post’s title is this year’s campaign slogan. Mental health conditions don’t get the same attention as physical health conditions, and there has been chronic underinvestment in mental health care for years. That needs to change. According to the World Health Organization: Depression is a leading cause …

Mental Health Care for All: Let’s Make It a Reality Read More »

Toxic productivity: Graphic of a man trying to do multiple tasks at once

Why Is Toxic Productivity Even a Thing?

I’m generally pretty out of the loop when it comes to pop psychology phenomena, so I just stumbled across the term toxic productivity fairly recently. While I hadn’t heard the term before, I’m at least with it enough to know that productivity talk is all over the internet. What is toxic productivity? Toxic productivity is …

Why Is Toxic Productivity Even a Thing? Read More »

Mental Health @ Home book review: The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD

Book Review: The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD

The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD by Kimberley Quinlan looks at how to use self-compassion in conjunction with exposure and response prevention (ERP) to manage OCD. The foreword is written by Jon Hershfield, co-author of The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD, which I’ve previously reviewed. Like that book’s use of mindfulness, this book uses self-compassion as a …

Book Review: The Self-Compassion Workbook for OCD Read More »

What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Adaptive vs. Maladaptive Coping

In this series, I dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychology-related terms.  This week’s term is adaptive vs. maladaptive coping. I use these terms a fair bit, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually explained them, so I figured it was time to remedy that. One way of characterizing coping strategies is as …

What Is… Adaptive vs. Maladaptive Coping Read More »

What Is... Series (Insights into Psychology)

What Is… Psychological Resilience

In this series, I will dig a little deeper into the meaning of psychological terms. This week’s term is resilience. In its most basic sense, resilience means rebounding or springing back. The American Psychological Association (APA) describes it as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or significant sources …

What Is… Psychological Resilience Read More »

Mental Health @ Home book review: I Hate You Don't Leave Me

Book Review: I Hate You – Don’t Leave Me

I Hate You – Don’t Leave Me: Understanding the Borderline Personality by Jerold J. Kreisman and Hal Strauss is the new third edition of a book that was first published in 1989. It’s probably one of the more widely recognized books about borderline personality disorder (BPD). There was a note to readers at the beginning …

Book Review: I Hate You – Don’t Leave Me Read More »